Small businesses don’t need a sustainability team to cut emissions. Most of the work is reading bills, making a few investment decisions and asking your main suppliers the right questions. This roadmap splits it into four quarters, so a year from now you have a footprint, a target and real reductions.

It is part of our business emissions section, within the wider carbon footprint guide. The plan below is our suggested order of work, built on the GHG Protocol and the SBTi’s SME guidance.

The plan at a glance

  1. Step 1: Months 1–3: measure

    Collect a year of energy, fuel and travel data, calculate scope 1 and 2, and screen scope 3 from spending.

  2. Step 2: Months 4–6: quick cuts and targets

    Fix the largest operational sources and decide whether to set a science-based target.

  3. Step 3: Months 7–9: suppliers and travel

    Ask your biggest suppliers for emissions data and plans, and set a travel policy.

  4. Step 4: Months 10–12: report and plan

    Recalculate, publish progress, and budget for next year’s bigger changes.

Months 1–3: measure

Start with the data you already have. The GHG Protocol notes that most small and medium-sized companies calculate scope 1 from the fuel they buy, such as natural gas and heating oil, and scope 2 from metered electricity, using published emission factorsSource 2.

  • Gather 12 months of bills: electricity, gas, heating oil, vehicle fuel or mileage.
  • Apply free factors. The UK government publishes conversion factors every yearSource 4; outside the UK, use your national equivalent.
  • Screen scope 3 from spending. Spend-based factors, such as Defra’s per-pound multipliers, give a first estimate for purchased goods and servicesSource 5. The Scope 3 Standard recommends using such initial estimates to find the largest sources before collecting better dataSource 3.
  • Pick a base year with verifiable data, usually the year you just measuredSource 2.

Our guide to how to calculate a carbon footprint shows the formula with worked examples.

Months 4–6: quick cuts and targets

With a footprint in hand, go after the largest lines you control:

  • Energy use: heating controls, LED lighting, switching off equipment out of hours.
  • Electricity supply: a renewable tariff lowers your market-based scope 2.
  • Vehicles: plan the move to electric as leases end.
  • Heating: plan a low-carbon replacement before the boiler fails.

This is also the time to decide on a target. The SBTi’s streamlined SME route lets eligible companies skip the commitment stage and the standard validation process, and set targets from predefined optionsSource 1.

Scrolls sideways to show every column.

Who can use the SBTi SME route, as of October 2026
TestRule
Scope 1 and location-based scope 2Under 10,000 t CO₂e (required)
SectorNot financial institutions or oil and gas (required)
Sector-specific criteriaNot required to use SBTi sector methods (required)
GroupNot part of a group that falls into the corporate route (required)
EmployeesFewer than 250 (one of four; meet three)
TurnoverUnder €50 million (one of four; meet three)
Total assetsUnder €25 million (one of four; meet three)
FLAGNot in a mandatory FLAG sector (one of four; meet three)

As of Oct 2026 · Source: [1] SBTi SME FAQs, version 6.2

On this route, near-term targets are absolute cuts in scope 1 and 2 with a target year 5 to 10 years ahead, and the SBTi recommends 2030Source 1. SMEs don’t have to set near-term scope 3 targets, but must commit to measuring and reducing scope 3Source 1.

Months 7–9: suppliers and travel

For many businesses, the value chain holds emissions you can’t cut alone. The Scope 3 Standard describes engaging major suppliers to obtain emissions data on the products you buy from them and on their own reduction plansSource 3.

  • List your top suppliers by spend and ask each for its emissions data and targets.
  • Add climate questions to purchasing, so new contracts favour suppliers with plans.
  • Set a travel policy: rail before short flights, economy by default, video calls where they work.
  • Survey staff commuting, and support cycling, public transport and remote work.

Scope 3 reduction covers supplier engagement in more depth.

Months 10–12: report and plan

Keep the method the same

Recalculate with the latest factors but the same method and boundary as your base year. The GHG Protocol asks for consistent methods so that year-on-year changes reflect real cuts, with any changes documentedSource 2.

  • Recalculate scope 1, 2 and your scope 3 screening.
  • Publish what you did: emissions, cuts made and targets. The SBTi requires companies with validated targets to report progress every yearSource 6.
  • Budget for year two: the larger investments, such as heat pumps, fleet electrification or on-site solar.

Common pitfalls

  • Starting with offsets. Buying credits first sizes the purchase on emissions you could have cut, and doesn’t count towards a science-based targetSource 6.
  • Measuring once. A footprint is a baseline, not a result. Recalculate every year with the same method.
  • Ignoring scope 3 entirely. It isn’t required in an SME near-term target, but the commitment to measure and reduce it isSource 1.

Going further: net zero

SMEs can also set net-zero targets. These need a reduction of at least 90% across scope 1, 2 and 3 by the target year, 2050 at the latest, with remaining emissions neutralisedSource 1. A long-term target requires a complete scope 1, 2 and 3 inventorySource 1. See our net-zero plan guide.

Carbon credits fit at the end, not the start. If you buy them, buy them on top of your reductions and describe them honestly; our guide to carbon credits for small businesses explains how.